elimination diet. { update }

It's already time for another elimination diet update!

Last night, in celebration of Brooke's birthday, I had a slice of cheesecake. I was intending to sacrifice myself and enjoy it, despite the sugar, since I'm aware that sugar most certainly causes some ankle stiffness and other joint aches. Knowing that going into a little sugar now and then isn't terrible. I was hoping to avoid the oreo crust since it contains gluten but this was a unique cheesecake the crust was on top and wasn't as solid of a crust as you're most likely used to. There wasn't a solid division between the cake and the crust so I just ate it. Later I read the recipe and found that there was also flour in the cheesecake part so avoiding the crust wouldn't have been worth the trouble anyway.

So... I had gluten. What happened?

Last night my fingers got pretty swollen and stiff a couple of hours after eating the cheesecake. When I woke this morning they were still puffy and stiff. I also felt about 20 years older walking down the stairs this morning.

It's hard to say what did what since I ate both sugar AND gluten, but it's clear that something bothered me and there were more symptoms that what I have previously attributed to sugar.

So I'll soon be eating something with gluten (something really worth it... like naan on my birthday possibly? :) ) and will report back with any symptoms I may have.

I did a little googling this morning and found quite a few people linking gluten consumption to swollen fingers/water retention. Interesting stuff!

Again, I encourage you to look into what you're eating if you have any ailments whatsoever. It's not very challenging to try an elimination diet and if you find that avoiding something makes you feel better it is so very worth it.

elimination diet. { update }

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping you in the loop about my elimination diet too well, save for a few recipes. It's been a little busy around here. As I type this I'm looking at things that have been sitting on my desk for months that still need tending to.

I'm back to eating nightshades. A couple of days short of the end of February I made a dish with both potatoes and tomatoes. I know that's a terrible strategy to use in an elimination diet because if I had had a symptom there would be no way of knowing what was at fault - the potatoes or tomatoes. But luckily nothing happened. I am very grateful for that because avoiding nightshades independent of other dietary restrictions probably wouldn't be too difficult, but avoiding nightshades AND gluten was surely a challenge. I was running out of things to cook that seemed appetizing.

I'm still going strong on being gluten free. I think that one is going to stick. In the little bit of research that I have done recently it seems there is a strong link between many autoimmune diseases and Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance. I read an article that actually suggested 20% of people diagnoses with lupus actually have Celiac Disease, a gluten allergy, or a gluten intolerance and are being incorrectly medicated with harsh drugs. I'm not taking any medicine released to lupus but still.. if there's a chance that my body is not dealing with gluten correctly.. why not give it up. Of course there are other reasons for avoiding it as mentioned in my initial elimination diet post.

I'm still trying to eat paleo-ish. I've been having a lot of rice lately in kheer. But I'm not eating the rice to gain nutrition.. it's just for fun as a nice way to use up the plethora of milk we have. Speaking of milk, I've been having more dairy for that reason as well. But at least I've been making yogurt. :)

The biggest thing that I want to report is on the sugar front - that's the reason I thought to write this update post today. Save for natural sugars I've been almost sugar free since the start of February. A couple of nights a week Tyler and I have Theo Chocolate sipping chocolate (or as I like to call it.. drinking chocolate..). Tyler got it for me for Christmas and I absolutely love it. We both have a small cup and it contains only a little bit of sugar (it's dark chocolate). I have noticed a bit of correlation between this and ankle stiffness in the morning but nothing unbearable by any means. (If you're in search of good chocolate - check out Theo. They have a small chocolate factory in Seattle where they make organic and fair trade amazingness.)

Yesterday I ate some regular chocolate that I got in my Vox Box from Influenster. It's milk chocolate and contains 20 grams of sugar per serving (three squares). I enjoyed eating it but I don't enjoy the consequences. It's amazing how quickly and noticeably it affected me. Not only did it cause my ankles to be stiff this morning but my legs have been aching all day and this afternoon my wrists even joined in. Woah! So... I'm staying sugar free. For obvious reasons.

I will occasionally compromise since the consequences will not kill me, but overall I'm labeling myself sugar free. Compromisses will be for special occasions such as a small cup of sipping chocolate with Tyler, my friend Brooke's birthday cheesecake tomorrow, my birthday on Saturday, and a celebratory gluten free cupcake on Monday with Amber (celebrating both of our birthdays).

If you're an achey person I STRONGLY suggest you give going sugar free a try. In addition to reducing inflammation it has many benefits.. it's really not good for us in the first place. And why not have a sugar free home if you have little kids around?